Although the number of American men who undergo vasectomy has stabilized at about 500,000 annually, the number requesting surgical reversal has grown dramatically. Estimates indicate that 2 to 6 percent of vasectomized men ultimately seek reversal.
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Submitted By: Gary S Berger MD
Tubal ligation – usually considered a permanent method of birth control – can be successfully reversed through one hour outpatient surgery. A recent large prospective study shows that most women become pregnant and have more children after tubal reversal.
The fallopian tube lengths remaining after a tubal ligation procedure are important determinants of the chances of getting pregnant after tubal reversal surgery. (Normal fallopian tube length before a tubal ligation is approximately 10 cm or 4 inches.)
Members of The Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center message board discuss having tubal reversal surgery after failed IVF attempts. For most women who have had their tubes tied and now desire more children, tubal reversal surgery is more successful and less expensive than the other option of in vitro fertilization (IVF). With IVF, drugs must be administered and a minor surgical procedure performed each time a women wants to try to conceive. With pregnancy rates of only 27% per cycle – and a cost of approximately $10,000 – $15,000 per cycle, IVF can become expensive quickly. When the reversal is performed by Dr. Gary Berger, success rates are nearly 75% and the cost is a one-time all-inclusive fee of $5900.
Recovery from a vasectomy reversal should be relatively swift and fairly comfortable. Any pain that might be experienced after surgery can be controlled with oral medications. About 50 percent of men experience discomfort that is similar to the level they had after the original vasectomy. Another quarter report less pain than accompanied the vasectomy. A final 25 percent say the pain is somewhat greater than after the vasectormy. The reassuring news is that any pain severe enough to require medication rarely lasts longer than a few days to a week.
Many people contact Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center seeking information about tubal ligation reversals with Dr. Berger and Dr. Monteith. Their most frequent questions are about success rates, pregnancy rates, the procedure and recovery, cost and insurance, risks and alternatives. The Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center website provides answers to these questions and the interactive Tubal Reversal Message Board provides an additional source of support that women who want to restore their fertility after a previous sterilization can go to communicate with other women who have had their tubes untied or are preparing to have reverse tubal ligations.
Statistically, five to ten percent of the over 600,000 men who annually undergo a vasectomy, will choose to have theirs’ reversed at some time. Vasectomy is the process by which the tube carrying sperm from the testicles out the penis is blocked. Vasectomy reversal is a micro-surgical procedure (done using an operating microscope) that requires up to 4 hours of operating time, wherein the tubes are reconnected, allowing sperm to pass through once again.
A member of the Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center Message Board posts “I was a member here several years ago. I had my reversal done by Dr. Berger 3 years ago. I had all but given up hope but now I’m currently 14 weeks pregnant at the age of 44!” Many times women age 40 or over who have had tubal ligation are encouraged to undergo IVF with donor egg due to their age. Tubal Reversal surgery with Dr. Berger gives women of any age the chance to conceive a child naturally. In a study performed by Dr. Berger, pregnancy rates after tubal reversal were higher than after IVF within every age group. Similarly, birth rates were higher after tubal reversal at Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center than after IVF for women of all ages and the differences increased with increasing maternal age.